Savory Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)

$3.69 recipe / $0.62 each

I know, I know, two cabbage recipes in a row? While I’m sure some of you are delighted, some might be totally “over” cabbage. But I’m all about reducing waste over here, so I needed to find a recipe to use up my leftover cabbage, carrot, and green onion from my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. I decided to try my hand at Okonomiyaki, or Japanese savory cabbage pancakes. What attracted me to this dish is the extreme flexibility of ingredients, which makes it a great “sweep the kitchen” recipe. And you know how I love recipes that accept whatever leftovers you might happen to have in the fridge at the time!

I didn’t buy anything special ingredients for my cabbage pancakes, instead I used all ingredients that I had on hand, and you can too. Other vegetables that would be great in these pancakes include kale, bean sprouts, radish, shredded broccoli or Brussels sprouts, or zucchini. In addition to vegetables, you can toss all sorts of meat into your pancakes. Try shrimp, canned salmon, shredded chicken or pork, or even bacon.

And that’s just what you can put IN your cabbage pancakes. Don’t even get me started with what you can put ON your pancakes. Okay, I’ll start. I kept it simple with a drizzle of sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and sliced green onion, but you could do hoisin sauce, toasted seaweed snacks, a fried egg, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, kimchi, or anything else you like. Honestly, the toppings are where it’s at for this recipe. It’s like pizza (and sometimes called Japanese pizza). The toppings make it fun, unique, and just all around extra special.

So, what do you have in your fridge that you could put in or on a savory cabbage pancake?

TOPPINGS

Instructions

Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Thinly slice or shred half of the cabbage, or until you have 4-5 cups shredded cabbage. Peel the carrot and shred it using a large-holed cheese grater. Slice the green onions.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Begin whisking in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter (about 3/4 to1 cup total flour).

Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter and stir until the vegetables are mixed and everything is evenly coated in batter.

Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture. Press it down into the hot skillet to form a circle, about 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place a cover on the skillet to hold in the steam, which will help the cabbage soften as it cooks. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes), then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Pile the cooked pancakes on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm until ready to eat. Add more oil to the skillet as needed as you cook the pancakes.

To prepare the sriracha mayo, mix together 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp sriracha in a small bowl. Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the pancakes just before serving, followed with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onion.

Step by Step Photos

Begin by shredding the vegetables. You can use a food processor, mandolin, or just a knife. Just remember, the thinner the better. Shred 1/2 of a small head of cabbage (4-5 cups once shredded), 1 carrot (about 1/2 cup), and slice three green onions.

Begin whisking in flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter. You’ll need between 3/4 to 1 cup flour.

Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter, then stir until everything is well mixed and coated in batter.

Since eggs and flour both like to stick to surfaces when cooked, I highly suggest using some sort of non-stick surface in addition to the oil. I used a cast iron skillet. Heat about 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in the skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place about 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture into the skillet. Press the mixture down to form a 6-inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place a lid on the skillet to hold in the steam (this helps soften the cabbage) and cook until it is golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes). Flip the pancake and cook on the second side until golden brown as well. I could actually fit two pancakes in this skillet, but doing one at a time made for prettier pictures. :P

To make the sriracha mayo, stir together 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp sriracha.

Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the savory cabbage pancake and then top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and more sliced onion. Dig in!

It will definitely make it a funky color. Hahah. But if you don’t care about that it may be okay. I do find that red cabbage has a stronger flavor than green, so it may make the overall flavor a bit different as well.

Thank you for this recipe! I made it a couple of nights ago and it was so good I had to make it again tonight. It would be pretty spectacular to make it in the more traditional way with pork belly slices, but it’s much more economical and healthy this way.

I have been topping mine with green onion, sesame seeds, sushi ginger, and bonito flakes, along with the sriracha mayo.

Hi Beth.
Thanks for the recipe. Been seeing home deliveries on fb for okonomiyaki but considering the delivery charge,.. i kept pushing it aside. Now that i’ve prepared and tasted it… i think this is a great alternative for kimchi pancakes whenever i run out of kimchi. Easier to prepare and tastes even better.

Super late to the party. However, when I bought WAY too much cabbage for coleslaw I was in desperate need for ways to use the leftovers. I rarely use cabbage so I didn’t have any recipes handy. Googled it and I was brought here.

Wonderful, easy recipe. Ate it for breakfast. I added some dashes of soy sauce on top because the pancake was a little bland, and I also love salty flavors. Maybe I would add salt (or old bay?) to the mix next time.

You should be able to find wheat-free soy sauce if you check a few stores. Kikkoman makes one, and they are a pretty common brand. For flour, this recipe doesn’t rely on the gluten-properties of wheat flour to hold together. The flour just makes the batter less thin and bulks it out a bit. I would guess that any gluten-free flour you have will work, but you will just need to eyeball the batter thickness, as it may take more or less alternative flour to reach the same batter consistency. For example, I’ve heard that it takes a smaller amount of rice flour than wheat flour to reach the same consistency. Happy cooking!

Since the first time I prepared these for my family, they have demanded them at least once each week. My 7 year old even likes to have them in her packed school lunch the next day.

We’ve played around with the toppings (sweet chili sauce; mayo and mustard; and ketchup by my little one), and added things like minced rapini, or shredded pork, or ground beef. One of the best basic recipes I have found.

Made the savory cabbage pancakes tonight from your recipe! wow, these are superb and compare favorably with the ones that I had this week in a wonderful restaurant in Charleston, SC. Thanks for sharing.

I don’t know if it is just my range or that I used a napa cabbage, but the first pancake came out burnt when cooked on medium. I cooked the next two at the third notch between low and medium, and that worked well with a three-minute cooking time on the first side and two-minute time on the second side. These were quite good, and I was surprised at how much we liked the sriracha mayo. Thanks for another great recipe!

My family loved this recipe. For my family, I leave out the sriracha….we are not a hot sauce kind of family. I add a little extra salt to the batter. I also make the pancakes a little smaller, which helps them to hold together better, and makes them easier to handle.

thisisa fun easy recipe for something different. We ate them as they came hot off the grill. we brushed them with a pre-made Tonkaksu sauce and hot sauce, sprinkled with sesames, seaweed, picked ginger and green onions. Sooooo yummy.

This is such a beautiful post and the pancakes look so yummy! I’m writing a cabbage recipe roundup for a Spoon University article, and I was wondering if I could use one of your pictures of the pancakes. I will give you photo credit. Your blog is awesome, keep up the great work!

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »